RML switch to Lola Coupe for finale

The team have run the open-top MG Lola EX265 this season, having been loyal Lola customers for the past five years, but have decided to upgrade to the closed top version used successfully by the Charouz and Speedy Sebah teams

"We have been considering the way forward for several months," said Adam Wiseberg, Director of Motorsport for the team's main backer AD Group.

"It became clear very early in the current season that the latest incarnation of what started life as the EX257, whilst having been tremendously competitive for the last three years in the LMP2 class, has reached the end of its useful life.

"As a consequence we have been examining very carefully all the possible options open to us for the future, and we arrived at the conclusion that upgrading the chassis to a closed-cockpit configuration was the most effective."

Drivers Thomas Erdos and Mike Newton tested the closed-top Lola for the first time at Snetterton today, and Erdos is confident that it represents the best route forward for RML.

"The Lola coupe has everything going for it," he said. "It's already shown that it can be very competitive, it provides us with continuity of components and manufacturer, and it's very attractive. When something looks right, it so very often is.

"The class has moved on, and we've always known that we need to upgrade the package to remain competitive. I'm just proud to be part of a team that's prepared to make this level of investment and clearly wants to go on winning.

"We have six hours at Silverstone to learn as much as we can about the revised car, and then we have the whole of the winter to get it fully sorted for 2009. It will put us in a very strong position going into the next season."

RML will retain the MG XP-21 engine in their new car for Silverstone, but are still considering their 2009 engine plans.

"We are still to make a final choice of engine for next year, but as we have been running with the XP-21 since the start of the season, we elected to complete the year in the same format," Newton explained. "It will give us a good foundation upon which to base our decisions for 2009."